Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
http://www.shamash.org/rashi
Volume 3 Number 16
Produced Sep, 16 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
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v5b33-13 MGD=Source(M) of Sweetness(GD). M=SOURCE in roots
v5a33-9 3 things Levi did but no other tribe:a)Gold calf,b)Milah
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*** READING TIPS ***
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IF YOU ARE IN A HURRY WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS:
* VERSE:
* RASHI TEXT:
* BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
"HOW DO I FIND QUICKLY A SPECIFIC SECTION?"
ANSWER: Use your FIND menu
For example: FIND VERSE:
takes you to the beginning of the next section.
Similarly
FIND NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
takes you to the brief explanation of Rashi.
"IS THERE AN EASY WAY TO GO TO EACH VERSE AND POSTING?"
Yes. Use your FIND menu.
"FIND #*#*#*#" takes you to the next posting
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VERSE: v5b33-13
v5b33-13 May your land be blessed with heavenly SWEETNESS
v1-24-53 ..and he gave SWEETIES to her brother & mother
v3-13-51 ..it is a PAINFUL Tzarath
RASHI TEXT:
v5b33-13 MGD means SWEET or PARADISIAL
v1-24-53 MGDim refers to SWEET THINGS...he brought
Israeli fruit
v3-13-51 MaR means PAINFUL like Ez28-24, PAINFUL THORNS
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
MGD occurs only 11 times in TNACH. We give 3 approaches
to the derivation of its meaning
ELEMENTARY APPROACH---MEANING BASED ON CONTEXT
----------------------------------------------
RDK appears to simply infer the meaning from context: Thus
>>MGD FRUITS (Cant4-13)
suggests that MGD is an ADJECTIVE modifying fruits.
An examination of the verses where it occurs shows that
>>MGD FRUITS = GOOD FRUITS
Thus RDK translates
>>MGD as the 'BEST OF'
INTERMEDIATE APPROACH---MEANING BASED ON CONTEXT/ROOTS
------------------------------------------------------
RDK would probably go a step further and SUPPORT the
above derivation based on CONTEXT with the grammatical
observation that
>>MGD = HOW (mh) GOOD (ngyd)
Where the translation
>>NGyD = Good
is based on eg the usage in Prov-8-6. RDK explains
>>NGyD = Good
since
>>'everyone faces opposite (NGD) a good leader/thing to
>>see/hear it'
In summary, RDK connects the root MGD with its constituent
parts MH and NGD.
ADVANCED APPROACH---DEEP LYING **UNIFORM** DERIVATIONS
------------------------------------------------------
Rashi however sought an etymology that ALWAYS held.
Rashi suggests the principle that
>>MGD = M + GD = Source(M) of SWEETNESS(GD)
where the idea that GD is perceived as something sweet comes from
eg 4-11-7.
But Rashi would go a step further and state that
>>ANY root beginning with M should be interpreted
>>as the SOURCE of the remainder of the root.
For example,
-------MRD = REBELLION
-------RD = DOWN
-------So MRD = SOURCE of DOWNFALL
In general if you have a 3 letter root like MRD then the last two
letters (RD) form a root by themselves and the 3 letter root, MRD
would mean the SOURCE(M) of DOWNFALL(RD). Symbolically we could
notate this as
>>Mxy = Source (M) of xy
About a dozen examples are given LIST1.
One of these examples is another Rashi in 3-13-51 dealing with
the root MAR. Since ARH means to PLUCK, Rashi takes MAR to mean
the type of pain that has as its source PLUCKING (eg plucking a
thorn). This in turn is based on the verse PAINFUL THORNS in
Ez28-24. In summary
>>MAR = Painful = Source(M) from Plucking
where the emphasis is on the type of pain you experience from
removal of thorns (This would fit in nicely with the skin
affliction Tzarath).
Note the exquisite contrast between the 3 levels: You can infer
meaning from
---context
---context+associations of roots
---context+associations of roots+Lists of uniform root derivations
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {Of verbs M+XY where MM=SOURCE OF. Thus the etymology
of these roots is M+XY=SOURCE XY. As an example
MRD=REBELLION, RD=DOWN. So we have the derivation
REBELLION = MRD = M+RD = SOURCE(M) OF DOWNFALL(RD).
Various subtleties in these derivations (like use
of poetic lisence are brought down in the footnotes)}
MAN Refuse Source of nothing AyN *2
MAR ThornPain Source from plucking ARH
MGD SWEET Source of Sweetness GD *1 *2 *7
MDN Municipality Place where Laws hold DyN *3 *7
MDA Why? Source for Knowledge YDA *7
MTR Dew Source of Pussiness TRH *4 *7
MLCh King Source of nations walkings hLCh *5
MSR Turn over to Source of Departing from SooR
MTzDH Cave(?) Source of Hunting TzD *6
MTzR Gates Source of Bundling TzRR *7
MRD Rebellion Source of Downfall RD
FOOTNOTES
*1 4-11-7 shows that GD was perceived as a sweet seed
*2 In some of these examples the M+ROOT and the ROOT
have the same meaning (in other words we have lost
knowledge of the nuances differentiating them).
Thus we could also say ARH=CURSE; MAR=SOURCE OF CURSES
and there would be no real difference between them.
However based on Rashi we would take MAR as the type of
pain you have when you pluck out a thorn (this would tie
in nicely with the skin disease, TZARATH).
*3 That is laws hold over the domain of the municipality
(Outside the municipality they do not hold)
*4 That is the dew creates the "pussy like" texture in the
morning
*5 This etymology, MLCh = MoLiCh (KING=The Walker) is due to
Rav Hirsch who sees the King as LEADING (=walking!!!) the
people and guiding them.
*6 That is the MTzuDaH is the source or hangout from which
you can hunt (it wouldn't exactly be a cave but rather an
ambush grounds)
*7 There is an element of poetic lisence in some of these
etymologies. For example THE MUNCIPALITY is not the SOURCE
of LAWS but the SOURCE/PLACE where LAWS hold; WHY is not the
SOURCE of KNOWLEDGE but the VEHICLE to get knowledge from
its source; DEW is not the SOURCE OF PUSSINESS but the SOURCE
of the PUSSY LIKE APPEARANCE in the morning; GATES create
borders and APPEAR to BUNDLE up the city. Similary MGD is not
a source of GD seeds but a source of things as sweet as GD
seeds.
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
WORD MEANINGS | ETYMOLOGIES | CONTEXT
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
SELECT roots FROM dictionary WHERE
EQUALS 'Source of' & Right(Root,2).Meaning
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VERSE: v5a33-9
v5a33-9 For Levi said 'I don't know my family'
v5b33-9 they (Levi) observed your sayings
v5c33-9 and watched your convenant
v2b32-26 and ALL Levites gathered to Moses
RASHI TEXT:
v5a33-9 Levi said 'I don't know my family' by the Golden
calf episode 2-32-26:28 where they killed 3000 people
from those who worshiped the golden calf (the 3000
people were their 'brothers' or fellow jews).
Furthermore, You cannot interpret 'I don't know my family'
literally (eg that Levites killed Levite brothers who
were worshipping idols), since the
Tribe of Levi did not sin (We know they did not sin
from the word WHOLE in the verse the
WHOLE TRIBE OF LEVI (2-32-26:28)
v5b33-9 Levi observed the SAYINGS OF GOD such as
'There will be no other Gods before me (2-20-3)
(They did not participate in the Golden calf)
v5c33-9 'Levi watched your CONVENANT' refers to
circumcision (which is called a convenant 1-17-10)
v2b32-26 The phrase 'ALL Levites came to Moses' shows
that the WHOLE tribe did not sin (If it had said that
'The Levites came to Moses' it would mean that MOST
of the tribe did not come to Moses'
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
Rashi is simple--for each phrase in the verse Rashi cites an
OTHER VERSE confirming/illuminating that phrase. This technique
of other verses is NOT straightforward here since it is not obvious
what each phrase is cross referencing. So Rashi deliberately selects
a cross reference where
>>Levi did it
>>the other tribes did not do it.
Let us examine the phrases in v5a33-9 in this light.
---'He watched your SAYING'--
>>Levi observed the SAYING 'No idols' (2-20-3)
>>The other tribes violated this at the Golden calf(2-32)
>>There are MANY commandments/SAYINGS in the Torah
and Levi observed these also (eg most chapters begin
'And God said to Moses saying (eg 4-15-37)
---'He watched your CONVENANT'--
>>Levi observed the CONVENANT of Circumcision (5-33-9)
>>The other tribes did not observe circumcision in
the wilderness (Jos5-8)
>>There are many other CONVENANTS (like the whole
TORAH) and Levi observed these also (eg the whole
Torah is called a convenant 2-24-7:8)
---'He didn't know his family'
>>Levi killed his family in the Golden Calf war
>>Levi was the only tribe that participated; no
other tribes participated (2-32-26:28)
Rashi notes that the phrase
>>Didn't recognize his family
could not be literal (that is it could not mean that the Levites
killed their Levite brothers who worshiped idols) because it
explicitly says in 2-32-26 that
>>**ALL** Levites came to Moses
The word ALL indicates that the WHOLE tribe did not sin (vs MOST
of them). See {LIST3} for other examples of ALL meaning no
exceptions.
We make two other comments--
1st) Rashi's associations between the phrases in v5-33-9 and
other verses are done by CONTENT not WORDS. For example, the
association between the 3 phrases
>>didn't see his parents
>>didn't recognize his BROTHERS
>>didn't know his children
and
>>kill your BROTHERS (Golden calf war, 2-32-26:28)
is not a word game on the common word BROTHERS but rather
a CONTENT link based on the fact that the Golden calf is an
ILLUSTRATION of how the LEVITES let observance of Gods laws
take precedence over family relations.
2nd) Rashi does NOT mean to EXHAUST the meaning of the verse
in the SPECIFIC associations he picked. Rather Rashi means
to show that these associations are GOOD examples (because
the other tribes did not do them).
In summary the proper way to interpret Rashi is with the word
ESPECIALLY:
>>'He didn't recognize his family'--such as by the Golden
>>calf war where the Levites killed fellow Jews and were
>>the only tribe not sinning.
>>'He watched Gods SAYINGS'---indeed he watched ALL of
>>Gods commandments, ESPECIALLY the prohibition of
>>idolatry which was violated by the other tribes at
>>the Golden calf incident.
>>'He observed your convenant'--indeed he watched ALL
>>of Gods convenants and the whole Torah---ESPECIALLY
>>the CONVENANT of circumcision which was not observed
>>by the other Jews in the wilderness.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
We again take note that this Rashi should be translated
with the word ESPECIALLY.
>>'He didn't recognize his family'--such as by the Golden
>>calf war where the Levites killed fellow Jews and were
>>the only tribe not sinning.
>>'He watched Gods SAYINGS'---indeed he watched ALL of
>>Gods commandments, ESPECIALLY the prohibition of
>>idolatry which was violated by the other tribes at
>>the Golden calf incident.
>>'He observed your convenant'--indeed he watched ALL
>>of Gods convenants and the whole Torah---ESPECIALLY
>>the CONVENANT of circumcision which was not observed
>>by the other Jews in the wilderness.
Note how without the word ESPECIALLY Rashi appears
>>SPECIFIC and
>>PICKY (Because he picks on only one example)
while with the word ESPECIALLY Rashi appears
>>RICH and
>>DEEP
because he acknowledges ALL examples and HILIGHTS those where
Levi was distinguished form the rest of the Tribes.
This use of ESPECIALLY in Rashis that SEEM to select 1 illustration
is a very important technique.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {Of phrases in 5-33-9 and the incidents that they
corresond to. For example the interpretation of
the first row of the LIST is as follows:5-33-9 says 'Didn't
recognize brothers' and this is confirmed by the
Golden Calf war where the LINK VERSE 2-36-27 has that
Moses asked the Levites to 'Kill Brothers'. Thus the
word BROTHERS creates a link between our verse and the
LINK VERSE. the FOOTNOTES and {LIST2} show how ONLY
LEVY participated in the war but not the other tribes
As noted in our explanation even though there are WORD
LINKS nevertheless the real association is based on CONTENT}
CONFIRMING WORD LINK IN LINK
PHRASE INCIDENT A VERSE VERSE FN
========================= =========== =============== ======= ==
Didn't see parents Golden calf NA
Didn't recognize brothers Golden calf kill brothers 2-36-27 *1
Didn't know children Golden Calf NA
watched Gods sayings Idolatry God said saying 2-20-1 *2
watched Gods convenant Circumcision convenant 1-17-10 *3
FOOTNOTES
*1 Although 5-33-9 speaks about not
>>seeing parents
>>recognizing brothers
>>knowing children
nevertheless, the only phrase with a link is
>>not recognizing BROTHERS
which corresponds to the command
>>kill your BROTHERS (2-32-26:28)
by the Golden calf.
It is important to emphasize that Rashi is NOT playing word
games here. The associations of phrases and incidents is by
topic/content. It is for this reason that the 5 phrases in 5-33-9
correspond to 3 incidents (5 vs 3).
*2 That is,
>>5-33-9 talks about "Watched Gods SAYINGS" while
>>2-20-1 says "God said..SAYING"..Don't have idols.
There are however many chapters/commandments in the Torah that
begin with
>>God said to Moses saying (eg 4-15-37)
Rashi however chose this particular confirming verse because the
Levites did not participate in the Golden Calf incident where
the commandment of idolatry was violated by the OTHER JEWS
(2-32-26:28){LIST2}
*3 There are other verses referring to the CONVENANT of God and
Israel and in fact the whole Torah is called a CONVENANT (Eg see
2-24-7:8, and 5-28-69, 3-26-42){LIST2}
Rashi however chose the convenant of circumcision because
the other tribes did not circumcise (Josh5-8)
{LIST2} {List of incidents where LEVI did abstain from sin
or did perform an action but the other tribes did
not}
INCIDENT OTHER JEWS DID NOT DO IT LEVITES DID DO IT
=============== ======================== =================
Golden calf war 2-32-28 2-32-28
Idolatry 2-32-26 2-32-26
Circumcision Josh5-8 5-33-9
{LIST3} {Examples of ALL meaning EVERYBODY--if the word ALL
is absent then there could have been exceptions}
VERSE WHOLE? CONTEXT LESSON
----- ------ ------- ------
4-11-29 WHOLE Become prophets Moses wanted EVERYONE to become
1-19-4 WHOLE Sdom/Gmarrah Shows how wicked city was *1
2-4-31 ----- Believe Moses Shows some had doubts
4-11-12 WHOLE Bear WHOLE Jews Shows problem:Bear EVERYbody
2-24-3 WHOLE Answer No dumb people
2-32-1 ----- Golden calf Not everyone participated
FOOTNOTES
*1 The "LESSON" should be clear. E.g. it doesn't just say
that the people gathered around Lots house..rather it says that
the WHOLE city gather around lots house...showing how evil
they were.
CROSS REFERENCES:
v2a20-15 in v1n11---ALL means no exceptions
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
OTHER VERSES | CONFIRMATION
OTHER VERSES | CONFIRMATION
OTHER VERSES | CONFIRMATION
SPECIAL WORDS
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
T1 = SELECT FROM Bible WHERE Verse=5-33-9
T2 SELECT verses FROM Bible WHERE
Verse.Content = NOT Phrase.Content
AND
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Seir)
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